Perfect Programming PDA/Palmtop/Calc

[Dave Britten]

(03-27-2016 09:09 AM)Chasfield Wrote:  My other low cost suggestion is to buy an old Texas TI57/58/59 programmable calculator. This would definitely widen you coding experience in the direction of quasi-assembly language. The manuals for these calculators are very good for learners. Getting a TI 5x up and running will almost certainly involve some kind of rechargeable battery transplant and you have to be sure that the one you buy hasn't been trashed by battery leakage.

Unless you need to be able to use ROM modules, the TI-66 would be a better choice. Much better battery life, runs on plain old LR44s, and the keyboard isn't atrocious.

Or get the TI-95 if you want the king of algebraic keystroke programmables (it actually outdoes the HP 41 in several respects), or the TI-74 if you want something programmable in BASIC with that same form factor.

But really, if you've already got an 89 Titanium, those probably won't bring much to the table as far as programming. As clumsy as the 89 is for daily number crunching, it's got a really nice programming system. If you want to get into RPN keystroke programming, look into the Swiss Micros DM-41L, or wait for the 42S clone they've announced for this summer.

I forgot to mention this earlier, but PocketCHIP is probably a great option. It's due out sometime around May - I've had my Kickstarter order in since last spring. For well under $100, you get a single-board computer that runs Linux, which you can pop into that handheld chassis with touch screen, keyboard, and battery, and also yank the CHIP back out and attach an HDMI adapter to use it as a desktop. Since it runs Linux, you can do C, Python, Scratch, or anything else. It's got GPIO pins in case you want to play with controlling other devices or adding sensors, and the basic CHIP is only about $9 in case you blow it up.